


before i leave

by Haachin



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, After!Graduation, F/M, Long Distance Relationship, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24975700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haachin/pseuds/Haachin
Summary: AU where Marinette has to go to study in New York.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	before i leave

The middle of the night.

The clock on the wall was ticking 3am. Her flight to New York was in 12 hours, yet she spent most of the night moving in Adrien's hold, finding it difficult to fall asleep. Her heart and mind fighting the battles of their own. As her fingertips squeezed the plane ticket trapped between them she finds herself unsure if she wants that. If she wants to chase after her dream, and what if her dream is to stay in Paris after all?

As each second neared and neared to her flight, she felt like she's ready to let go of New York. She's ready to chase after her designer dreams in Paris just to be close with the ones she loves. She can't imagine her life without them. She can't imagine her tomorrow without them and what it would be like. For her, it was a lot more difficult to let go of them.

What if New York is not even for her?

And she knows that New York won't be able to replace everything she loves her, and most importantly her home that Paris was to her.

It was not the city itself.

But the world she had built around her, including her family and her friends and...

Even right now, her head kept turning back to look at the Adrien who was sleeping on her bed. _Adrien_ , he needed her no matter how hard he tried to convince her that everything's well and that he doesn't want to hold her back if that meant pursuing her dreams.

But, what if he was her dream? After what happened with Nathalie and Gabriel, she and her parents were the only family he has right now.

She doesn't want for him to feel abandoned, once again.

She feels so _selfish_.

What if something happens to Paris during the time she's gone?

What if the _distance_ is just not a word...

She's so deep in her thoughts. 12 hours left until she's sitting on a plane and she already is missing everybody. Her heart has been grieving for days. A week ago, that's when it started, when she was hit with a realization of what she's doing, and questions like what if it is her biggest mistake... and her mind continues to juggle back and forth between the thoughts of what if _the fate itself has put everything in order together_ and what if _she's in charge of her own destiny and the decision depends on her_.

 _It's not too late,_ the voice in the back of her head tells her.

Her fingers grasp at the ticket tighter when she feels the pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

She feels the familiarity of Adrien leaning in closer towards her and resting his head on her shoulder. "You know you should be sleeping," his voice inviting her back to the bed. 

But she can't. She wants to use this entire time they've both left together to make it up for all the time they're about to lose together.

"I thought that you already noticed that I'm unable to sleep entire night long," Marinette lets out an explanatory giggle. But she can't any longer hold it back inside of her. The upswing of emotions threatening to overtake her. "I can't. Whenever I close my eyes, I end up feeling restless.. I feel like I shouldn't go to New York and that I am about to do the biggest mistake in my life. I belong here in Paris with you, with my mom and dad, with our friends.."

Gentle fingertips run through her hair before he kisses into her waves. "You know the biggest mistake would be if you let your dreams slip away just like this, you wanted this for a very long time, Mari," he whispers to her. "Just because you'll be in New York, it doesn't mean that we still don't get to see or stay in contact with each other. We'll be fine. I know that I am not going anywhere and I'll be here even when you go back."

His words don't make her feel any bitter,

Instead, guilt continues to ripple through the insides of her and her heart feels like it's ready to shatter in thousands of pieces.

"But I can also live out my dream here and I'm afraid that if I may go there, I will end up losing you, and... it's unfair of me to leave you alone after everything you've gone through. What kind of a girlfriend does that?" she chokes up in her words. "I don't want to go there. I am currently waiting for you to tell me not to go anywhere and look at what you're doing. You're _actually_ encouraging me!"

She feels his arms to turn her back around and his hands to drop against her cheeks. Tears drip down from the corners of her eyes as she looks up at him.

She was looking for any kind of an excuse, for any reason, just for him to tell her not to go...

Her eyes are desperately looking for any kind of a protestation from him, but there's none. Only a sad smile of their own.

Instead, his fingertips lovingly caress her cheeks. "Because it'd be selfish of me to stop you from doing something you've aspired to be a long time before you met me. And I know how talented you are, but what I also know is that I can wait for you to come back and that the moment you go back there's no way I'm letting go of you again," his face inches closer towards to erase a space between both of them. Their foreheads touching each others. "And what I also know is that you living in a different continent won't change the way I feel for you. You're not just my girlfriend or a Ladybug, but first and foremost, you're Marinette. The world deserves to see how amazing you are."

The silence is tarnished by the speechless sobs. Marinette wants to scream at him... to no avail. He's just not making it any easier for him. She will miss him. She already does even when she's in his arms. The female finds herself reaching for him and just hugging him, seeking to feel him as close as it's possible.

"It is not a goodbye, Marinette," he whispers to her ear, his arms comforting his lost and puzzled girlfriend. "It's just a _see you soon._ And it will be soon, because I will try to see you as often as I can."

A comforting laugh escapes her lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"You can't know when I will show up at your door. And I will always be here for you despite the miles that separate us." his finger raises his girlfriend's chin so he can look her in the eyes. "I promise you. We're going to make it together."

"I promise to you too," her arms lock around him and she pushes herself up on her tiptoes so their lips can bump against each other's. "I love you, Adrien."

"I love you too, Marinette."

**Author's Note:**

> I have written this back in the summer of 2019, so it was way before the time S3's finale came out. Either way with the direction they have gone, so this now sort of counts as an AU, haha. Not sure what kind of tags I should use so I leave them there.
> 
> And I wholeheartedly believe that long-distance relationship would work between Adrien and Marinette. They would make it work. 
> 
> Questions, comments, concerns? Leave them below!


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